Biblical Theology XIII: Esther

The Book of Esther is part of the section of the Ketubim called megillot "scrolls," and is a later postexilic work meant to address the situation of the Jews in a time of uncertainty.

Theology: The Book of Esther is the only book in the entire Hebrew Bible that does not mention the name of God. Neither the name YHWH nor the designation Elohim is said anywhere in the book. The closest one gets is an allusion to God without using His name in 4:14.

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

This is a means to communicate the author’s theological point that God seems absent from life in the same way that He is absent from the book. However, although God is not mentioned explicitly in the book, His work on behalf of delivering His people is still going on. In other words, though God seems to be completely absent at times, He is still very present and working among His people.

The reversal of fortune theme found throughout the book is meant to convey this very idea that God is at work behind the scenes, and because of this, what “seems” will be the outcome of something will not necessarily be the true outcome due to God’s intervention through His people.

Ethics: Because God is working in the world behind the scenes, those who seek to plot against His people will have their ill-will turned back upon them, but His people He will save and honor.

 The plot of the book is centered on festivals. The word for “festival/banquet” occurs twenty times in the book, but only twenty-four times throughout the Hebrew Bible in its entirety. This is to highlight the festival that is held in commemoration of God’s saving acts in a time when God seemed distant and absent from the lives of His people. The idea is that the works of God are to be remembered in times when God seems absent, so that one does not lose faith during those times simply because God is not making Himself known explicitly. Instead, one should have faith that God is present and continuing to work even though it looks like He is absent. It also means that one should take courage and keep doing the work of God that brings life and salvation to His people during those times, since He is, indeed, still working through His people at those times as well; and it is primarily through His people that He works in the world so that some dramatic unveiling of Himself in every generation is unnecessary and even counterproductive. What this tells us is that God is absent so that we intervene and attempt to do the good in the world that we otherwise would just put on God to do, and thus, live in a world where God does all of the good work, and we remain unchanged sloths who abdicate our roles as God’s images in the world. God’s absence is an invitation to participate in His work.